Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy breaks school punt return record against UMass
Penn State CB Daequan Hardy rewrote the school record books Saturday by returning two punts for touchdowns, becoming the first Nittany Lion to ever take two of them to the house in a single game.
He split duties on the punt return unit Saturday with wide receiver Kaden Saunders against the UMass Minutemen in Beaver Stadium. Penn State won 63-0.
Hardy’s first return, which was also the first punt return of any kind in his Penn State career, went for 56 yards. He made the first two UMass players miss before running down the east sideline for the score to open up a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
He continued to split returns with Saunders, but may have grabbed control of the job when he ran back a second punt in the third quarter, this time for 68 yards, to make it a 49-0 game.
The Nittany Lion cornerback missed the first two games of the season for undisclosed reasons, but returned for the Illinois game and has made an impact for the defense since then. While Saunders has been relatively secure as a returner, Hardy showed he poses more of a big play threat for the team moving forward.
“Obviously, he’s earned himself a job today,” coach James Franklin told BTN on the field after the win.
This story was originally published October 14, 2023 at 6:30 PM.
